Andrew Scott's Hamlet (Almeida)

I hope, like Kenneth C, that if a transfer is going to happen, it will be announced soon, especially if, as mrbarnaby suggested previously, it is likely to be directly after the Almeida run. I have tried to keep a slot free in May when I will be in London but other stuff is booking up and I don't want to miss out on something else if the Hamlet transfer isn't on the cards after all.

For any of the Under 25's on the board there are some interesting Hamlet-associated free activities planned:
almeida.co.uk/hamlet-for-free-festival

A pair of £18 seats on the almeida site right now for evening Weds 22nd March if it helps anyone!

thanks but gone too quick for me, a couple currently for next 3 eves though if anyone can do those dates

I didn't even notice the crossed arms. The low rake of the front few rows of the Almeida stalls means that your view of significant chunks of the stage is always blocked by the heads in front of you, although this is compensated by being so intimate to the actors.

I think this Sopranos reference is just one example of many in the show which enrich the experience if you notice it and can interpret it but which don't detract or confuse or obscure if you notice but don't pick up the intention. And if you miss it completely, like me, because it happened behind someone's head or because you were looking somewhere else, then that doesn't matter either because the show is so rich that you already have plenty else to notice and to mull over.

As far as I recall the Sops ends with a black screen.

I just returned an £18 stalls ticket for Wed 22nd evening - now on sale on the almeida website if you're quick

Just returned 2 tickets for tomorrow evening ( 17/3/17) stalls row A

Ah thanks Tally! I think I just bought that ticket! 

Overall I enjoyed this, though I'm not sure I'd agree it exactly flew by...

Horatio weak, Ophelia too modern (though thank God she didn't seem to wibble on as much as most Ophelias do towards the end), Laertes OK at best (gabbled text, and incoherent when shouting, at times). Liked Juliet Stevenson a lot and, while I take on board the grumbles about Wright's delivery, he's the only Claudius I've ever seen where I've thought, '****, I'd have jumped into bed with him too'.

Scott was marvellous. I knew he could do manic but I very much enjoyed his moments of introspection. Made me wish someone would offer him a truly quiet, pared-back role on stage so I could see what he did with it. Felt like there was a lot of honesty in his interactions with the audience and at times things seemed so simple he actually appeared to be a guy at an audition or just improvising in a studio, not playing one of the most challenging roles in Shakespeare! And I mean that most sincerely as a compliment. I liked that his Hamlet seemed so affectionate with his father, too - generally the ghost is played as someone absolutely everyone is terrified of.

I have to say, the weird ending didn't work for me at all, and actually sapped the emotional impact somewhat.

Yes, so often Hamlet is played by middle-aged actors and therefore his moods can seem a bit petulant and self-indulgent, which puts up a barrier between actor and audience. Here I found Scott very vulnerable and believable. It would be interesting to see if that sense of successfully 'bringing the audience in to him' could be replicated in a larger space or if it's just down to the intimate size of the Almeida. My feeling is it wasn't entirely due to the physical space.

He and David Rintoul forged some lovely connections, too - in all of Rintoul's 'incarnations'. And I mustn't forget Peter Wight as Polonius - delightful. Loved his 'Et tu, Brute' dodgy knee!!

I saw the matinee on saturday with a friend and I'm still processing it. Did anyone else also catch the RSC production last summer? The two couldn't be more different in my eyes but I loved them both equally. The only thing I had seen Andrew Scott in previously was Pride, so I didn't really have all that much of an idea of what he was like but like many of you, I was completely drawn in by his portrayal. I loved how raw it was. And Juliet Stevenson! What an incredible talent (and wasn't that dress she wore in her first scenes stunning?) I thought that she made a really wonderful Gertrude. On a whole I thought that the rest of the cast were pretty great, although I found Claudius to be very one-note and boring, which is a shame. I really do hope that this transfers as I would love to get a second viewing of it!